It's now or never for Islanders ahead of insane nine game road trip

Twenty four hours. That is all it took for the executive to publicly change course.

No, this is not about President Donald J. Trump reversing course following another nonsensical proclamation. Instead, this is about Doug Weight telling a truth:

The 2016-17 New York Islanders season will be determined by their nine-game road trip which begins Tuesday at the Joe Louis Arena against Atlantic Division-worst Detroit.

“We have to change things,” Weight told reporters after the Islanders’ 6-4 win over the Devils at Barclays Center Sunday night, according to theNew York Post. “We don’t have a good feeling, not a good vibe on the road right now. For whatever reason, I think the biggest one in my mind — because I think we’re built to be a good road team — is we’ve been [home] a lot, and we’ve been great here, and it’s been a crutch. It seems like three out of four nights, we’re here.Hopefully we can get on the road, get together as a team, start to be that good road team that we have to be, and I believe we can be.”

The interim coach’s words were drastically different than what they were in the bowels of the Prudential Center Saturday night, following a 3-2 loss to the Devils.

“No. No. It’s not really a concern,” said Weight. “There’s no mental crap right now. If you have that you’re not strong enough to be in anyways.

“It’s not a problem. You just have to find ways to win. Maybe I’m cutting myself off at the knees in that statement but I don’t feel like there’s a problem going forward as far as we can’t win on the road.”

On the eve of the franchise-record road swing, the Islanders have 27-21-10 overall record. Further examination reveals the Islanders are 20-8-6 at home, but are a league-worst 7-13-4 away from Barclays.

“We know we can play our type of hockey on the road, as well,” Andrew Ladd told thePostafter Sunday’s win.

The available data shows that the Islanders rank 24th in the NHL with a 2.95 goals allowed per game average. A deeper delve into the statistical information unveils a team whose goals allowed per game at home is 2.76, and 3.21 on the road.

Offensively, the Islanders’ 2.98 overall goals for per game average is seventh best in the league, and their 3.29 goals for per game average at home is ranks fifth. That number drops to 2.54 on the road.

Essentially, the Islanders are a drastically different team at home than they are on the road.

Why the discrepancy?

“There’s nothing to say,” Weight said Saturday night. “We’re going to have to win on the road if we’re going to do anything.”